Madame

Mao Jin waited as the physician examined his patient and took up the slender wrist lying on the bed. Madame Shen hung respectfully in the background, waiting to see if she was needed. She had been invaluable; besides fetching a physician, she had brought some clean clothes and changed the unconscious woman's damp ones for them, and all this without asking any unwanted questions. Mao Jin was conscious of a grudging gratitude towards her--grudging, because he knew she expected him to pay her more for her services. Madame Shen never let an opportunity for money go by.

The doctor finally laid down the wrist, and turned to Mao Jin with a frown. "This lady is with child, sir. She ought not to be travelling about on her own. May I ask if you are her husband, sir?"

Surprised, Mao Jin took a while to reply. Pregnant?

He recovered himself hastily, annoyed that a flush burnt into his cheeks. "Of course not. I have never seen her before in my life. She was passing by on her own, and I happened to see her collapse on the road, so I brought her in here. I have no idea who she is, or where she is from. Is she from around here?"

The doctor shook his head. "Your humble servant has never seen this lady before. Well, what are we to do with her? She is quite weak and ill, and should not be moved for now."

Drawing a deep breath, Mao Jin sighed. "I suppose she can stay here for the time being, at least until she recovers. Meanwhile we must try and find out where her relatives are."

The doctor bowed, relieved at the solution. "Mao Gongzi is compassionate. But surely it is not convenient for a gentleman like you living alone to have a lady present--?" He coughed delicately.

Madame Shen spoke up quickly. "Mao Gongzi, if I may be so bold as to speak. I have a daughter, handy with her hands if she's not the brightest. You could hire her for a maid for now, to help care for this lady. She can sleep in the chamber here and cook for you, she won't disturb you if you wish."

Mao Jin couldn't help but smile at her quick wits. Trust Madame Shen to profit from the situation. It was a good idea, however, and he considered it carefully. He had no desire to be nursing this strange woman, and it was better to safeguard against any nasty rumours that might spread, if there were only two of them present.

Nodding, he waved her off impatiently. "Bring your daughter here then, and hurry. Physician, is there any medicine she should take?"

He glanced at the still face on the pillow block. Madame Shen had combed the disheveled hair neatly as well, and she looked peaceful, elegant even. Uneasily he wondered if she had connections to someone rich and powerful, and if he would be implicated in whatever conflict must have taken place. Whose child was she bearing, and why wasn't her husband with her?

"Pregnant," he repeated to himself perplexedly as the physician wrote out a prescription. "This only makes for more questions. And the last thing I expected to have to deal with. Ah, what a complicated situation I've gotten myself into!"

Rather annoyed that his beautiful solitude was going to be disrupted, not just by this invalid but by Madame Shen's girl, he retreated to his study to try and calm himself down.

He was still there, even after the physician left and Madame Shen had installed her daughter, with many last minute instructions and hissed warnings to behave herself and do a good job serving the lady and staying out of Mao Gongzi's way.

Wanwan peeked curiously at him from behind the screen separating the young gentleman's study. A bright-eyed girl of sixteen, she was thin but strong, handy around the house, and had an uncanny knack for imitating bullfrogs, horses, fighting chickens, and firecrackers. She had a husky, cheerful voice that she used to sing when she worked, bony wrists and small capable hands, and a head of thick, glossy dark hair done up in neat plaits pinned against her small head. She was neither plain nor pretty, but her clear healthy colour and the liveliness of her expression made her pleasant to look at.

It was a momentous day for Wanwan, who had never know any other place besides her family's hut with its broken roof and the chickens endlessly making noise in the backyard. In the middle of her chores on an ordinary morning like any other, she had been hustled out of the house without much ceremony. Her mother had only given her time to take a few things packed hurriedly into a small bundle, and then pulled her along to Mao Gongzi's house, talking nonstop along the way. Bewildered, Wanwan had tried her best to remember her mother's instructions about the young gentleman's preferences, and what to cook for him, and how to behave so as not to offend him, and the lady she was supposed to care for. However, her excitement made her forget most of it and she was still in awe of her new surroundings. She couldn't resist taking a peek at her new master. If everything her mother had said about him was true, he was a strange creature indeed. What young gentleman lived so simply and remotely like this, and didn't even have a servant staying with him to attend to his needs? The modest yet elegant furniture of the place clearly showed that he had money and taste. But Wanwan had only heard of old, penniless, hermits. This was a puzzle.

"Why, how stern he looks," she whispered to herself as she watched him sit at his low table, reading a scroll before him. "But he looks young, despite his haughty expression. I don't believe he's the husband of the lady after all." She nodded knowingly.

A little smile curved her lips. "But he is handsome, as Mother said. Still, it wouldn't kill him to smile more, would it?"

There was a soft noise behind her and she hurriedly turned with a guilty start, to see her patient stirring. Wanwan hurried over, remembering to move softly and keep her hands folded sedately before her as her mother had told her maids in rich families did.

"You're awake, madame," she said respectfully.